[Leica] Re: Copyright Infringement, what do you think?

["Eric" <ericm@pobox.com>]

George:

>She enclosed a jpg of the reworked and manipulated photograph, a
>self-portrait from my web site's home page, and an html.

Cool photo!  I like your self portrait.  Obviously, your "thief" did, as
well.

I'd say no harm, no foul.  Unless you registered your copyright on this
image before the infraction, US copyright law says pretty much the same
thing, in effect.  If you had lots of money to spend on lawyers, you could
get her to stop using your image.  But you'd have to prove economic harm
before getting a monetary judgement against her.

The point of copyright laws when they were enacted was to stop unscrupulous
producers from mass producing the work of others, making profits off the
work of others, and then not sharing any royalties with the authors.  If
that were allowed to happen, why would anybody invest the time and effort
required to create original works?  Doesn't seem to be the case here.

I'd say she has poor taste.  She can't claim ignorance...otherwise, why
would she hope you wouldn't be mad?  She knows she's done something wrong.
She should have approached you earlier.  But hey...each of us have things we
should have done earlier.  :)  She seems to be operating on the philosophy
that it's far easier to ask forgiveness than permission.


Eric